Past, Present, Future
by Fiction C9
Summary: Mistakes of the present become ghosts of the past, and ghosts of the past become barriers to the future. To overcome these barriers, Ash, Gary and Pikachu must face up to the pasts they have left behind, and truly become who they were meant to be. PikaPOV
1. Chapter 1 : Beginnings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. Please read and review if you can! I would appreciate it.**

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

It's a cool night. I snuggle into my trainer's arms, and settle there comfortably. I like times like these, when we're alone together, sitting under a vast sky dotted with stars.

It's times like these, when I feel so warm and happy inside.

It's times like these, when I don't regret losing my first trainer. Because if he hadn't gone,

I would've never known friendship. True friendship. Friendship like this.

"Pikachu?" he asks in a soft voice, rubbing my fur gently.

"Pika-pika?" I reply, noticing the strange way his eyes keep staring into the distance. Like he's only half here, like half of his soul is in another place, another time. I know that look. It's the look he wears every year on this one day. It's the look I know I used the wear before he became my trainer. It's a look of almost-buried memories and half-forgotten pain.

"You're not ever going to leave me alone are you, Pikachu?"

It's the question he asks every time on this day.

"Pika-pi-pi-pikachu!" _Not in a million years, you dolt!_ I say indignantly, as I always do.

He bends his head to look at me, and I see a sad smile on his face.

"Thanks, Pikachu. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Hours later, long after he has fallen asleep, I watch him. Silently. As a shadow. I remember the wistful longing expression on his face as he stared into the sky. An expression that spoke of memories not soon forgotten. An expression that spoke of something or someone desperately needed, yet lost.

I watch him. And I wonder what memories he cannot confide in even me.


	2. Chapter 2 : Let's Go Home

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. This is the second chapter in my first Pokemon project. I will try to update as much as I can, but I'm going back to school tomorrow, so forgive me if I 'm late updating. Oh, thanks to my first two reviewer. I really appreciate your reviews.**

**Chapter 2: "Let's Go Home."**

"Glalie, Blizzard!"

I watch from my master's side as my old friend, Glalie, launches a Blizzard attack. An icy, biting wind whips up, carrying with it snow and hail. The opponent is blinded, flailing wildly, without direction

The challenger, a hot-tempered young man waves his arms angrily. I don't like him much. He doesn't treat his Pokemon like friends or colleagues. He treats them like slaves.

"Machamp, get yourself together, you hear me? You useless idiot?"

The Pokemon does not pay attention. I look up, seeing my trainer grin in triumph.

"Let's finish this, Glalie! Ice Beam!"

A burst of white-blue light gathers between Glalie's horns. It shoots out, catching the Machamp mid-flail. Immediately, the poor dope is frozen. I refrain from hopping over to touch him and see if he cracks.

The umpire waits a brief moment. Then, he shouts in that annoying voice of his – do they _**all**_ have to sound the same? – "Machamp is unable to battle! Ash Ketchum, Pokemon Master wins!"

The crown roars, as they always do. Sometimes, I wonder if they ever had lessons from Kecleon. Lessons on how to change loyalties in the blink of any eye. Lessons on how to forget the one they rooted for first as soon as he/she loses.

My best friend is soon surrounded by supporters and worshiping fans. I crouch in the mass of feet, and listen to Ash sheepishly accept shouts of congratulations and sign autographs. He still hasn't adapted to fame.

I scramble up his leg, back and onto his ever-present cap.

On my way up, I sense that every muscle in his body is tense as he answers the questions of reporters and fans alike.

He reaches up to pat my head. There is laughter on his face. But his eyes are tired.

--

Hours after the long line of trainers challenging the Pokemon Master has dissipated, defeated, my "master" and I remain in the stadium. It's empty now. Any over-enthusiastic fans and reporters successfully chased away by security.

Ash is quiet, absently stroking my fur as I stretch out beside him. I wait for him to speak, to tell me what has been plaguing him for weeks since he became Pokemon Master.

Silence. We listen to the sounds of practice battles going on outside as the second batch of trainers wait to take Ash on.

Silence. We watch the stadium workers sweep the floor and dust the seats.

Silence. We…. Oh, I give up!

"Pika! Pikachu-pi-pika!" I shout, leaping up from my lazy position. _What's wrong, already!_

Ash looks at me, a brief expression of amusement crossing his face. It's quickly replaced by the faraway look I've forced myself to become accustomed to.

"It's nothing, Pikachu." He says quietly, pulling his cap down over his face. I hate it when he does that. Because that's when I know my "master", my best friend is truly, really upset. And he wants to hide it. That's what I hate most of all.

"Pi-pika-pika-chu. Chu!" I say angrily. _Out with it already! Or do you want a taste of electricity?_

He laughs shortly. "You're a great friend. You know that, Pikachu?"

I allow myself to look pleased for a millisecond, and then plop down beside him, an unmistakable air of expectance hovering about me.

Silence. A sigh.

Finally, he speaks. "I, I, well, I 'm just not used to this kind of lifestyle yet, Pikachu." He waves a hand briefly at the gigantic stadium, the posters depicting Ash as the new Pokemon Master.

I continue to wait. I know there's more.

Ash pushes his cap up, and draws his knees up, resting his chin on them. He looks wistful.

"I just don't know who I can trust here. Who just wants to befriend me because of my title, who wants to gain my trust to gain influence and respect among his/her peers. Or even who just wants to be with me for who I am inside."

I utter an indignant squeak.

He smiles at me, a quick, grateful smile. "I know, Pikachu. You're my best friend. For real. I wouldn't ever doubt you."

I sniff, pretending not to be pleased.

He returns to staring into the distance.

"I guess I just want to go somewhere where I can be accepted for who I am again."

Pikachu! Light bulb flashing. I just got a brilliant idea, as is my wont.

"Chu-pikachu-pika-pika-pi." I tug on his jeans impatiently

"What is it, Pikachu?" he asks in surprise, barely holding himself from tumbling down the rows and rows of seats in a very undignified, very un-Pokemon-Master-like way. Sheepishly, I release my hold on his jeans.

"Pika!" _Let's go home._

"Go home?" his eyes widen. "Home? Pallet Town?"

I nod impatiently. Humans, even my dear "master" can be so slow.

He looks skeptical for a minute or two. Then, he smiles. Really smiles. A smile that reaches his eyes. I realize for a moment that I hadn't seen that smile for a long time.

"That's a great idea, Pikachu." He says softly. He gets up, picking me up in his arms.

"Let's go home."


	3. Chapter 3 : Leaving

**Disclaimer: Same as always. I don't own Pokemon and will never own Pokemon, unless my truly insane dreams come true, and when I die , I am reborn in the Pokemon world. This chapter is a little short, but I promise that the pace will be picked up in the next chap.**

**Chapter 3: Leaving**

"I'm leaving, and that's that!"

"Ash, listen to me, you can't go!"

I perk up my ears, listening to the two humans argue. I can hear Ash's agitated steps easily as he paces back and forth inside the study.

"Why not?" he shouts in frustration, even though I know that he knows the answer.

We've, or rather _he's_ been quarreling with Alyssa all day, and all yesterday too, come to think of it.

Alyssa is sighing in there. She says in a weary voice, like she's said it a thousand times, which she has, I suppose, "You know why, Ash. You're the Pokemon Master. You have responsibi-"

Ash cuts in furiously, "I don't care! I'm leaving."

I wince slightly as the office door is flung open, and Ash strides out, his face dark with anger and frustration.

Alyssa, his agent, dashes out after him, the stack of papers in her arms crashing to the floor when she accidentally trips over my tail.

I guiltily snatch it out of the way.

"Ash!" she ignores me, calling out to the retreating back of my 'master'. "Come back here! You have-"

He spins around on his heels, his dark eyes flashing. He spits, "I don't care about my stupid responsibilities! I'm tired of this; I'm tired of battling twenty four-seven. I'm going home for a rest!"

I watch him reach towards his belt and unhook a Pokeball. He flings it into the air.

I shrug at Alyssa and make to follow him.

But something stops me. The desperate, frightened, guilty look on her face, the way she stretches her hand out towards Ash as he climbs atop Charizard, his mouth set in a stubborn line. And, her voice as she pleads with him one last time, except this time she doesn't sound tired or frustrated.

"Please…Ash, you can't leave."

Something in me feels cold, the part of me that warns of coming misfortune. I stop for a half-second, my mind a mass of confusion. But, Ash's voice soon sets me loping toward him again.

"Pikachu?" he says. Something in his voice reminds me of the question he asks me year after year, on one special day. And I know where my loyalties lie. Not with Alyssa, not even with me.

I owe everything to the one trainer who showed me what true friendship was and could be.

My mind made up, I leap onto his shoulder. At Ash's command, Charizard's wings begin to flap at a blinding speed, and I feel wind rushing past my ears as we start to climb slowly into the air.

Something compels me to look back one last time at Alyssa, standing helplessly on the ground, papers fluttering around her, and that desperate look on her face and in her eyes. My sense of foreboding surges as I watch her mouth form two words as we rise higher and higher into a sky flooded with orange-red sunset.

"I'm sorry."


	4. Chapter 4 : Destruction

I listen to the slow whirr of Charizard's wings, the chirping of the flocks of bird Pokemon as they fly past, the soft sounds of life on the earth below us

_**Disclaimer: This chapter is longer than the others. I hope you like it. The story is starting to pick up. I might not be able to update so often anymore though. Back at school and all that. I'm changing the plot a little, so the summary will change too. Oh, yeah, before I forget, the purpose of this disclaimer.I DO NOT OWN POKEMON AND I NEVER WILL. Thank you.**_

_**Chapter 4: Destruction**_

I listen to the slow whirr of Charizard's wings, the chirping of the flocks of bird Pokemon as they fly past, the soft sounds of life on the earth below us. I listen to the shallow ragged breathing just above my left ear, and the crackling flames engulfing a once-place of home.

"It's… it's…" he chokes, unable to force the words past his lips. I know what he is thinking, even if he doesn't know it himself. Because I felt like that once before. Because I know what it's like to lose something.

_Rain's falling, drenching my fur, soaking me to the bone. I'm freezing, but I don't move away. I don't want to leave. Leaving would mean abandoning him, abandoning our friendship and six years of dreams._

_He's in pain. I can tell. His whole body is tense, and his knuckles are white, his fingers digging into the ground. He never liked anyone to see him vulnerable._

_Sometimes I hated him for it._

_There are shouts in the distance, a siren screaming. I am tempted to stay, but I know I must leave. Staying would mean probable capture. I can't allow that. _

_And so I turn away from the first person to believe in me._

_I glance back once, before loping off into the wet, sodden grass of a wilderness I had long forgotten. I open my mouth to say something, to say goodbye._

_But I don't. Because something inside tells me somehow, that saying it aloud would make it true. Like it isn't already._

_But I cling to that one last shred of false hope. And stay silent._

"Pikaa…" I say softly. _Let's land._

Ash doesn't answer. I don't think he can even hear me. He just stares silently at the destruction below us. A mass of ash-blackened ruins and flames slowly beginning to die out. There isn't a sign of life anywhere in a once-bustling but peaceful town.

"Pikachu. Pika." I turn to Charizard instead. He nods, and starts to descend slowly through the smoke-thickened air. I use my tail to cover my mouth, shutting my eyes just as they begin to water. Ash does no such thing as far as I can tell. I can hear him coughing.

"Zar..." I feel the now-familiar thump as Charizard lands.

I open my eyes and hop down, nearly tripping over a smouldering piece of rubble on the blackened ground. I crouch down, trying to see through the smoke. To no avail. I find myself staring at smoke rather than through it.

"Zard. Zar." Charizard snorts derisively behind my back. _Stupid idiot._

I spin around, sparks crackling. Charizard rolls his eyes at me, and starts to move his wings. They move faster and faster, producing a strong wind that easily clears the smoke away, something all my squinting couldn't do. I scowled.

"Pikachu, look out!"

So suddenly I don't even have time to widen my eyes in surprise, Ash leaps down from Charizard's back and lunges towards me, throwing me to one side.

That's when I see the angrily crackling Shadow Ball go hurtling past, just grazing my nose.

"Zar!" Charizard immediately opens fire. The river of orange-red flame passes harmlessly over Ash's head, but I could've kicked Charizard anyway. I felt like kicking someone. Anyone. Since when did I become so wrapped up in myself that I lost all sense of danger?

"Breon! Umbreon!" I snap my head up, fur standing on end with surprise and shock. Too late, I try to dodge as something black, furious and furry came barreling towards me. I feel all my breath knocked out of my body and I crash into the remains of a wall.

"Umbreon, calm down!" I hear Ash saying desperately. Stars are twirling around my head. _So pretty._

"Umbreon, I need you to calm down. I have to know what's going on!" There seems to be a sort of struggle going on in front of me. Ash and a snarling, angry midnight black Umbreon. As my head slowly starts to clear again, I realize just which Umbreon it is."

I shake my head furiously, and bound towards my 'master' and his 'captive', struggling violently in his grasp. I stop just in front of Umbreon, reaching out my paw.

The struggle stops for a moment, as both boy and Pokemon stare at me quizzically.

I clear my throat, glancing sideways at Ash. He reluctantly releases Umbreon, who immediately jumps to one side, watching him warily. I wait patiently for him to tear his gaze away from Ash and look at me.

"Pikaa-pika-pikachu-pi-pi-pikachu?" I say, staring straight into Umbreon's blood-red eyes. _Why did you attack me?_

He looks away. I see a flash of guilt on his face. "Umbre-bre-breon-umbreon." He mumbles. But there is a tinge of anger in his words. _It's your fault they came. _

"Pika-pikachu." I reply, not understanding. _How can it be my fault?_

"Umbreon-breon-bre." Umbreon shakes his head. _I can't explain it here. And the human doesn't understand what we're saying._

True enough, Ash is staring at us with a blank look on his face. "Pikachu, what is Umbreon saying?"

Umbreon snorts at the stupidity of humans, and glances back at me.

"Umbre-breon." _Come with me. _"Bre-bre-breon-umbreon-umbre-umbreon-bre." _I'll take you to Gary. He can explain._

He begins to lope off, dodging the rubble easily, with a familiarity that makes me feel sick somehow. Behind me, I suppose Ash has at least got the gist of Umbreon's words. He calls Charizard back into his Pokeball, and I hear the soft thud of his footsteps as he follows me and Umbreon.

"Pikachu-pika?" I ask, running to walk beside the dark-type. He only answers briefly, quickening his steps. "Bre-breon." _You'll see when we get there._

And so the walk falls into a steady if slightly uncomfortable silence. Umbreon leading the way, I following, and Ash walking behind us both. It's like a procession of some kind, I suppose. I push away the strange morbid thought that it could be a procession to see the dead.

_He's alive, you idiot! Or why would Umbreon be taking us to see a dead body?_

I shake my head, as if I can shake away the thought just as I shake dust from my fur. I sometimes think I might be as dumb as a human.

Even though, I suppose that they aren't really dumb. Just to Pokemon maybe. Perhaps to them, we are the dumb ones. This world is confusing.

We walk silently, through smoke and past ruins and fires still burning.

Finally, we reach the blackened and charred beginning of a forest. Umbreon leads us past a boulder that bears the marks of a possible Flamethrower or two. He takes us along a sandy, rocky trail that is almost not a trail; it is so faded and thick with undergrowth.

At last, after an hour or two of getting whipped by low branches, and hearing Ash get whipped by all branches, we reached what seemed to be a small clearing.

The clearing was shrouded by trees and tall grass. Umbreon forced his way through the greenery, motioning to us to follow. Reluctantly, we obeyed. I hoped fervently that there wasn't any poison ivy lying around, and if there was, it would get Ash and not me. Almost as if he's heard me, he shouted indignantly. "Pikachu! So much for friendship and undying loyalty…"

I just shrugged. _There're some thing loyalty doesn't cover, buddy. And poison ivy is one of them._

We finally manage to struggle out into open space. I look up to see Gary, dressed in clothes ripped and a little burned. Bandages encircle his right arm and head. There is a strange look in his eyes that I hadn't noticed before as he looks at Ash. Somehow, though, I got the feeling that it had always been there, and I had been too busy with their rivalry to see it.

Ash's eyes narrow as he looks Gary up and down. "What happened?" he asks abruptly.

"Pallet Town was attacked." He replies simply. "By Team Rocket."

Ash curses softly. "What did they want?" he demands. "What did they _do_?"

At this point, I feel Gary's gaze turn towards me, searching and confused.

"Umbre-breon!" Umbreon says heatedly. His 'master' translated.

"They wanted Pikachu." He paused for a moment, and then added. "They turned the town inside out searching for him. As you probably noticed."

Ash spluttered. "But why would they want Pikachu? And why would they have come to Pallet Town? Pikachu was with me!"

Gary averted his eyes, choosing his words carefully. "I think... I think, that maybe, Ash, they expected you to come back around that time, two days ago."

"But why?" Ash demanded. "I didn't even plan to come back till three days ago! And then it took me two and a half to travel here."

Gary shrugged. "Ash," he said quietly. "Do you suppose that you might have somebody working with you but is actually working for Team Rocket?"

"A spy, you mean." Ash muttered. I watched him think, even though I thought I already knew the answer.

He counted off his fingers. "Alex, my publicist; Victoria, my keeper, even though she says she's only been employed to make sure I don't so anything reckless; Chrissie, the chauffeur, even though I never did understand why I needed one; Alyssa, my agent, the one who takes care of and schedules all my affairs."

His eyes widened at the last finger. "Alyssa." he breathed. "She was acting really strange a few days back, kept suggesting that I go back for a rest or something. Although she seemed really half-hearted about it… and she changed her mind just when I _wanted_ to go back. Was it her? But…" He shook his head. Ash had never liked doubting people.

"It was her, I bet." Gary said firmly, before my 'master' could come up with a thousand supposedly infallible reasons as to why it couldn't be Alyssa.

"But…" Ash protested.

Gary cut in. "I forgot to tell you. All the townspeople, they're gone."

"What do you mean, gone?" Ash demanded, suddenly remembering that he hadn't seen a soul besides Gary and Umbreon.

Gary shook his head, as if trying to chase away a bad dream. "I mean what I mean." He said calmly. "They're gone. Team Rocket took them. All of them."

"All of them." Ash repeated quietly. His voice cracked for a moment. "My mother too?"

Gary nodded, adding in an expressionless voice. "Your mother, my grandfather.

Everyone. Hostages, I presume. Aerodactyl only just managed to get me away."

Ash was silent.

"I'm sorry." Gary said, a hint of helplessness in his tone now. "I tried to save them. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." my best friend muttered. He was clenching his fists so hard the knuckled were white. "I know you tried."

Again, silence ensued. Umbreon and I exchanged glances and looked away again, at our respective 'masters'.

"We have to go after them." Ash said finally, breaking the ice that had formed with the absence of conversation.

"Yes." Gary agreed. He suddenly began to fish in the pockets of his blood-stained jeans. Ash watched him with a hint of curiosity, and so did I. Umbreon just sat down beside his 'master', and watched _us_.

At last, he appeared to have found what he was looking for. He brought out an irregularly-shaped package from his pocket, and handed it to Ash.

"It's from your mother." He said softly, as Ash began to unwrap it apprehensively.

He brought out a beautiful, exquisitely carved glass Pikachu. The blue-silver glass was smooth and clear, except for a few places where it appeared to have been attached back together again.

Ash stared at it, a strange expression on his face. An expression I couldn't understand yet seemed to know. He ran his finger over the cool surface.

"I thought…"

Gary interrupted, his expression mirroring Ash's own. "Your mother fixed it. She said… she said that you were old enough now, and that it was time to stop running away." He swallowed. "She gave me it the morning Team Rocket came. She wanted me to give it to you the next time I saw you. She said it had to come from me."

Ash didn't seem to be listening.

He repeated his mother's words, quietly, almost as if he couldn't understand them. Yet I knew he did.

"Stop running away."


	5. Chapter 5 : Trapping The Trappers

_**Disclaimer: Thanks to all my reviewers and those peoplw who have added me to their Favorites Stories lists etc. I'm sorry if you find this chapter a bit too long. I'm trying out a suggestion made by one of my reviewers. Let me know immediately if you think it doesn't work. Hem.Hem.Hem. I suppose I'd better get on wit the usual lark. I DO NOT own Pokemon, or this Disclamer thingamajig I'm currently writing would not exist. Thank you.**_

_**Chapter 5: Trapping the Trappers**_

"_Stop running away."_

I snuggle up next to my 'master's' warm body, and listen silently to the three words he keeps repeating, again and again, even though sleep, for him, has already come.

The glass Pikachu that seems to hold some strange memory for him has been carefully rewrapped, and stored in his backpack. I suppress an urge to take it out and examine it, as if its smooth, empty glass surface will willingly tell me all that Ash himself has never told me.

I hear a soft rustling sound nearby, and a Pokemon's quiet padding away into the night, accompanied by the muffled sound of footfalls on the earth. I wonder what Gary and Umbreon are doing up so late at night. I sneak a glance at Ash's watch. 1.30 p.m. I dither for a moment, thinking uneasily about what my best friend might get himself tangled up with during my absence. Finally, I decide.

_Ash can take care of himself. And I'll only be gone for a while. Besides, it's not like I'll be able to go to sleep anytime soon, what with all his muttering._

I wriggle out of the sleeping bag, and noiselessly-or so I hope- start to make my way through the darkness, trying my best to follow Gary's and Umbreon's trail.

The world at night is a strange place, I decide after a short while. Above my head, the heavily green-laden branches gleam silver-green-gray in the moonlight. The moon herself is silver-white, full, shining brightly against a midnight sky. Looking upwards, I can almost make out the faint outline of clouds that are white by day, but almost indecipherable by night.

There are also the soft cries of the night Pokemon that fly across the sky, seeming to fly with the small sparkling golden stars. Their seemingly-mournful cries mingle with the clear, crisp sounds of the world on land, blending to form a strange song with stranger lyrics. A song, I realize, as I tread lightly upon dimly green grass, which sings of sadness and dreams and wishes and warmth.

"You know, Umbreon. I always liked night better than day."

I freeze and immediately unfreeze to go scuttle behind a bush. My heart beating wildly, I peer out from between the leaves. I have just escaped notice, I realize with relief.

Gary and Umbreon come strolling slowly down the path, opposite the way I had been coming from. They were probably returning from wherever they'd been.

Gary kicked at a small stone on the path. It flew into the air, flying for a few precious seconds before crashing back to earth.

"Umbre-bre-breon." _So do I. Why do you think I'm an Umbreon?_

He smiles, reaching down to scratch behind Umbreon's black ears.

"You're my best friend, Umbreon."

"Bre-on-breon-umbreon-umbreon!" _And good thing too. You're so absent-minded you'd fall off a cliff if I wasn't watching!_

There is a short silence. I sense that they are just enjoying each other's company. Like I do with Ash sometimes. Like I used to do with Lu-

_Don't say it! Don't ever, ever say it!_

Following my mind's hurried, angry orders, I shut up mentally.

"Umbre-umbre-on?" I hear Umbreon say suddenly. _Sing that song again._

Gary sighs. "Umbreon, no. I already sang it for you tonight."

"Umbreon!" _I want to listen to it again._

"Umbreon…"

A pleading look on Umbreon's face.

Gary hesitates. Then relents. "Fine."

Umbreon happily rubs against his legs.

They stop walking, the echo of their footsteps dying away into the wild darkness. It's like there a sort of shroud surrounding them now, even though I can still see them perfectly.

Softly, I hear Gary's voice begin to sing.

_A thousand springs ago,_

_You and I treaded new paths together,_

_Watched flowers bloom_

_Life spring from death_

_Dreams reborn_

_From ashes._

_You and I, we dreamt together…_

At that moment, when his voice echoed softly through the shadows, adding its own lyrics to the song of darkness, I decided I had seen enough.

Quietly, I crept away.

Behind me, a voice that seemed to sing of long-lost memories and sadness and forgotten dreams floated on, merging with the night.

"So, how are we going to save everybody?" Ash asked bluntly the next morning.

"Good morning to you too." Gary said sarcastically, still spooning porridge into his mouth.

Ash, who had already gulped down his own breakfast at record-breaking speed, grumbled.

"Fine. Good morning to all your Royal Stuffy-About-Etiquettes."

"Wow, Ash. I wasn't aware you even knew the word 'royal'! Not to mention 'etiquette'."

"Shut up, Gary!"

"Now, now. Don't swear, Ashy-boy. Your mother wouldn't like it."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"Ash, don't tell me you're actually thinking of keeping something this important from your darling mother!"

"What's important?"

"The fact you swear, though of course you should also inform her that you know what 'etiquette' is. Think of how surprised and happy she'll be!"

"Gary!"

"What…hey! Ow! Stop that."

I sit comfortably with Umbreon, munching Pokemon food, glad that I don't have to make up an excuse to _not_ eat Ash's cooking.

Pokemon food is a much better way to survive.

"So?" Ash repeated, pushing his breakfast to one side, "How?"

Gary's eyebrows rose as he stared at Ash's half-eaten food.

"Are you sick today, Ash? Delirious?"

"Shut up!"

Gary shook his head. "Fine. I don't know. You know any way?"

"Yeah." Ash's voice sounds triumphant. "Team Rocket."

Gary rolls his eyes. "What about Team Rocket? They're not likely to invite us to their base, you know."

"They will. At least I know three members who will."

"Who?" He looks surprised.

"Let's just say, they've been tailing me for a long time."

I decide to speak up, "Pika-pika-pikachu." _How do you know they still follow us?_

Ash grins, "They do, trust me. Security just keeps kicking them out whatever they do. Alyssa told me once."

His face darkens a little as her name leaves his mouth. I hurriedly think of something to divert him.

"Pikachu?" _What do you want with them?_

"I'm going to trap them."

Gary corrects him, "_We're_ going to trap them. You don't think you can do this all on your own."

Ash scowls for a brief moment, then to my relief, quenches his pride. "Fine. Here's the plan. But first, we need bait."

"Umbre?" _Who's bait?_

I'm wondering the exact same thing. Suddenly, I feel three pairs of eyes on me. My heart sinks.

"Pika-pika!" _Oh no you don't! Not-_

They share a glance.

Ash cheerfully announces my doom. "Pikachu, you're bait."

"Pikaa…"

A few hours later, nearing noon, when I should have been, by all rights and supposed-to-bes, eating my lunch, I was instead walking round and round and round a certain place on the forest path.

"Pikaa-pika." I grumble softly under my breath, careful not to put too much pressure on my feet. If I did, the carefully camouflaged hole in the ground would probably have caved in, and Ash would be paying for my funeral. A nice funeral mind, an expensive one. I _am_ worth my weight in more than gold anyway, right?

"Umbreon!" _Sing it! _I hear Umbreon's voice somewhere behind me, urging me on.

"Umbreon, be quiet!" Gary hisses softly.

"Both of you shut up, how about that?" Ash suggested.

"Hey, you're talking too…"

Rolling my eyes, I tune out the inevitable argument, and rack my brain for the stupid song Umbreon wanted me to sing. Apparently, it is designed to fool predators.

_Chu-pikachu. Yeah right._

Here go the lyrics. I stop my ears going red as I open my mouth.

Pika-pika-pikachu-pika

I am food. I am food.

Pikachu-pikachu

_Very happy fat fat food_

Pika-pika…

_Come eat me…_

_Pikachu... I am not singing this!_

Disregarding the fact that Umbreon will probably howl his displeasure at an uncomfortable volume later, I decide to invent my own lyrics.

Murderously, as loudly as I possibly can, I chant,

Pika-pika-pikachu-chu

_Die, die, die, mortals_

(Afterthought)

Pikachu

_And Umbreon_

Pika-pikachu

_I will kill you_

Pika-pika-pikachu-pikachu-chu

_For disrespecting my non-bait qualities_

Chu-pikachu..

_Even if my self-made song_

Pikachu-pikachu

_Doesn't rhyme_

I prepare to sing some more very intelligent lyrics. Suddenly, I hear a triumphant yell.

"Meowth! Pikachu is finally ours!"

Instantly, I jump away from the ready-made trap, just managing to avoid three pairs of grasping hands before they crash into the hole.

"Pika!" I call.

Ash, Gary and Umbreon appear from behind some bushes. Umbreon looks disgruntled. I turn up my nose at him stubbornly.

Ash gleefully peers into the deep hole in the ground. He chortles, "Yes! Finally, payback for all those stupid times you made me fall into your stupid traps."

Three very familiar faces glare up at him.

Jesse grumbles, "Twerp."

James moans, "I think I squashed my bottle cap collection."

Meowth snarls, "We're the ones who are supposed to trap people!"

Gary says thoughtfully, "Oh, you mean these idiots."

All three criminals shout in unison, "We're not idiots, twerp! We're very successful criminals."

"Yeah right." Ash mutters.

They glare at him. "What do you want?"

"Your help."

Surprised silence.

Then, Jesse says slowly, "You're joking."

"Nope." Ash shakes his head.

"Well, whatever it is, we don't have to help you!" Meowth declares.

Ash and Gary exchange glances. Gary jerks his head, and Ash nods.

"Yeah you do." Gary says calmly.

"No we don't!"

"Yeah you do."

"No we don't!"

"Yeah, you do."

"No, we-"

"Yeah, you do, or else I'm going to blow up this hole."

"……You're crazy!"

"Nope, sorry."

"You'll be arrested."

"Doubt anyone knows you exist, actually, so I won't."

"……"

"Care to help, now?"

"……"

"Fine, Ash, where's the dynamite?'

Ash starts to move back towards the bushes.

Team Rocket cries, "We'll do it! What do you need?"

Gary grins triumphantly. He and Ash high-five.

And that's when I see something passing across their faces. It's blurred, almost forgotten, yet it's still there, as if stubbornly refusing to fade away completely.

Friendship.


	6. Chapter 6 : First Revelation

_**Disclaimer: I'm finally getting started on the juicy stuff! I think. With my usual record, I might go and deviate again. Ah well, you can all assume that this story's going to be a long one anyways. Hope you like it!**_

_**Chapter 6 : First Revelation**_

It's quiet in the forest as we walk.

I can hear the voices of the Pokemon as they call to each other, the whistle of leaves in the breeze, and the soft thudding of our footsteps on the earth.

But then again, maybe that's because I've got really long ears, because the two idiotic humans in front of me are arguing for Kanto.

"Are you sure we should just have blasted them off like that?"

"Yes, okay? I've always done it. They're probably used to it by now!"

"But…"

"Shut up, please!"

"But, are you _sure_…?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes! Now can we focus on how we're going to get to that stupid island?"

I exchange exasperated glances with Umbreon, walking beside me.

"Umbre-breon" he moans softly. _I'd forgotten they used to fight like this._

"Pikaa-pikachu." _Yeah, me too._

"Bre-on-bre." _It's annoying._

"Pikachu." _Uh-huh._

The two humans turn back to look at us. They seem to have resolved their argument, which has been carrying on all evening since Team Rocket left with their usual bang.

Gary speaks first. "We've decided to travel back into Pallet Town and try to salvage a boat from the lab ruins."

"Umbreon-umbreon." _Why do we need a boat?_

"Don't swear, Umbre." Gary says automatically, as Ash rolls his eyes at the reprimand.

"We're going to use the river that runs there out into the ocean. It should be the quickest route to that secret island James mentioned. And since Professor Oak used to keep boats in his laboratory, we think that we might be able to salvage one and use it."

"Pikaa?" _What if we can't?_

Gary answers, "We'll have to make one. It'll be easy to find materials in all the wreckage. And I'm sure our Pokemon are up to it."

"Umbre-umbre-umbreon. Umbre?" _So it's settled then. And why are we going in the opposite direction of the town?_

"Oh….oh no!"

Umbreon and I smirk condescendingly at them. And get a thump each for our efforts.

"I…remember this tree."

I finish my part of the boat, and run into the small expanse of forest by the riverbank to find Ash. I follow the sound of his voice, padding through the tall trees laden with green leaves. Finally, I find him. But I stand behind his back, not moving.

I wait for him to sense my presence.

"I remember everything that happened here, so many years ago…"

His voice carries a faint tinge of regret. He smiles at me when he feels my gaze, and picks me up in his arms, letting me fully observe a tall, towering oak with wide branches spreading into the glowing sunshine.

"See, Pikachu? I spent a lot of my childhood here, under this tree. Years before we became friends."

I don't answer. I don't have to. Gary is calling from the riverside. The boat is finished. We can leave now.

I'm glad. I don't know how to answer, even though I know Ash expects me to say something. I leap out of his arms and run toward Gary and Umbreon. The other Pokemon have already been called back.

It is a moment before I finally hear Ash's quiet footsteps in my wake.

We lie in the boat, the four of us, staring up at the sky.

Nobody speaks.

Slowly, I know, we're all slipping back into memories of our own.

As always, I push mine away, not wanting to remember.

I close my eyes and fall asleep.

Sleep is always the best escape.

_Running. Slipping and sliding on the wet grass. All I can hear is the ragged panting behind me and the roaring in my ears as I run._

_Behind us, I can hear the sound of hundreds of thudding feet chasing us in the darkness, harsh orders being barked to people and Pokemon. I shut my eyes for a brief moment, tears of fear and panic welling up despite myself, and I suddenly feel an urge to scream for someone or something to make me safe. I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I'm truly, really scared. And that alone frightens me more._

_Suddenly, I feel a pair of warm, familiar arms lift me up and hug me close. He is still running for his life, our lives, but for some reason I feel safer, and for the briefest moment I dare to hope that we might escape._

_The logical part of my mind knows we won't. We can't._

"_Pikachu." He says suddenly, hugging me closer. I can feel the rain soaking his hair dripping onto my fur. Strange, is rain salty? I reach out my tongue to lick my fur._

"_Pikachu." He repeats. There's something urgent and barely controlled in his voice._

_I look up. "Pika?"_

_He smiles briefly. I can see rainwater trickling down his face. Or maybe it was tears. I look down again, and something clenches inside me._

"_Don't forget me, okay?"_

_I don't answer. How do you answer a question like that?_

"_Promise."_

_I bite my lip. But that same something in his voice makes me open my mouth and say the word that would tie my life to his. For the past we had shared together. For the present of danger and fear that would tear us apart, and for the future I would spend trying to heal._

"_Chu." _Promise.

Thing is, you can't escape from dreams.

My eyes fly open, and I struggle to my feet. It's a cool night, but I can feel sweat running down my back. I lift my head to look at the night sky high above me, opening my mouth to take in huge gulps of fresh air.

I shake my head. Not working. I glance towards the riverbank, green with grass and dotted with flowers that shine coolly in the moonlight. The open land beckons to me.

Maybe I should go for a walk.

I look behind me. Ash is fast asleep, or at least he seems to be. His cap is pulled down low over his eyes, and his chest rises and falls slowly. His fingers twitch, and what I can see of his face screws up momentarily. I think he's dreaming.

I hesitate. Then my eyes narrow.

Gary and Umbreon are gone.

It shouldn't really matter. We're only leaving tomorrow, because Gary insisted that since none of us really knew how to navigate a boat, it would be better to travel by day, when the light was brighter and we had a better chance of not accidentally piloting ourselves over a waterfall.

But, same as the night before, something pushed me to find out what they were up to.

I jump onto the edge of the boat and run along the rope anchoring it to the riverbank.

I've found them.

Finally. After nearly an hour of sniffing around the edge of the forest by the bank. Not to mention accidentally angering an army of Kakuna-turned-Beedrill when my sniffing led me headlong into their tree.

Nursing my wounds, I hide behind a rock on the edge of a large clearing. The clearing is a roundish expanse of grass and wildflowers, all carrying a faint sheen of silver moon. There is gigantic tree in the middle of all this, made even bigger by the absence of other trees. It's dark green-gray leaves stretch forlornly towards the gold stars and silver moon, so far away.

It's the same tree Ash showed me today.

In the darkness that surrounds it now, I make out two shapes, one tall, one nearer to the ground. I know who they are.

They're staring at the tree, neither moving to touch it or to back away. It's like they think it's a sacred being, something too precious to mar or blur in any way by mortal hands.

"Umbre-umbreon."_ What does this have to do with the glass Pikachu?_

I stiffen, remembering the fragile thing that Ash keeps safe in his backpack. The thing that seems to hold some long forgotten memory for him that I do not know.

Gary speaks softly, almost as if he feels that a louder volume would shatter the thin shield that seems to surround the tree, protecting it from space and time.

"The glass Pikachu was my present to Ash for his eighth birthday. I gave it to him under this tree, Umbreon."

Umbreon does not answer. I know that he is waiting for Gary to continue, to finish saying what it was he brought Umbreon here to tell him, or to tell the tree, to relive whatever the tree held for him and Ash.

"After that day, I never saw the glass Pikachu again, until Ash's mother gave it to me."

There is a strange note to his voice. I lean forward, trying to see his eyes, to understand what he is thinking as he releases the words from his mouth, each syllable sounding as if it had ached to be free for a long time.

I feel a hand on my back. "Pikachu…"

Immediately, I whirl around, memories of rain and fear and running away filling my mind.

I relax when I come face to face with only Ash.

He retreats back into the trees, gesturing for me to follow him. I look back once more at the two dark figures by the towering oak tree, and move towards him.

Silently, we walk through the forest back to the boat.

Again, with the soft rocking motion below me, I stare up at the sky. But this time Ash gazes together with me.

Finally, I gather enough courage to turn towards my best friend and ask him,

"What happened to the glass Pikachu after Gary gave it to you?"

For a moment, he doesn't answer. Instead, he reaches into his backpack and takes out the object of curiosity. He runs a finger over it, feeling the cracks and blemishes in its cool surface.

"Pikachu," he says. His voice is tight, controlled.

I remain silent, waiting for him to continue.

"The first thing you need to know before I answer you is, Gary and I used to be friends. Best friends."

He lowers his head as the last two words escape his lips. I can't see what he is feeling.

Sometimes, somehow, he reminds me of my old trainer.

The same stubbornness, the same determination, the same fire.

The same unwillingness to admit that even he could hurt.

I wait.

"This glass Pikachu," he waves it at me, his eyes still averted, "was Gary's last gift to me."

Silence. I can hear soft footsteps in the distance. Gary and Umbreon are returning, I think.

I wonder if I should warn Ash.

But it's too late. I see their outlines in the distance, their faces slowly becoming clearer as they walk towards us. They look mildly confused that we are still awake.

Ash takes a deep breath, just as they come within earshot of us. I open my mouth, but he is already speaking, choking out the words as if they hurt him.

"I broke it."


	7. Chapter 7 : Danger At Sea

**Disclaimer: Again, I do not own Pokemon, or this would be in film, plus I would be getting paid to write it in the first place. This chapter is a little shorter than the other two, but it was what I wanted anyways. Sort of. Review please.**

**Chapter 7 : Danger At Sea**

"I broke it."

It seems as if the world has stopped turning, for the briefest moment as I stare disbelievingly at my trainer.

Ash would never destroy something someone had given him, especially something apparently so precious to him. Precious to him, and in some strange way, precious to Gary.

_Why?_ The question is barely formed in my mouth, before someone beats me to it.

"Why?" the wind blows gently past, carrying the single word to our ears and beyond, across the river, to the slightly interested Hoothoot perched in the shadowed trees.

Ash whips around so fast I blink.

"You…"

I turn my head slowly, a strangely sick feeling rising in my stomach. I don't have to look. I know who it is anyway. The footsteps halted long ago, when Ash opened his mouth to free the three words that seemed to carry so much regret and bitterness.

I lock eyes with a pair of steady expressionless crimson orbs.

"Umbreon…" _You were listening._

"Pikaa." _Yes._

I should've known Umbreon would spot me in the darkness. Night is his domain, not mine.

"Why?" Gary repeated. His whole body was tensed, his eyes filled with an expression I didn't understand.

"I…I…"

"Answer me!" There was a horrible trembling anger in his voice. And yet I sensed that the anger was just a cover, a cover to prevent something else private and unwanted escaping.

Ash is starting to get flustered. That's a bad thing, I know. Ash only ever gets flustered when he's confused and hurt and doesn't want to show it. That would've been normal, okay, except that when Ash is flustered, he tends to get angry too, and blurt out things he doesn't mean.

"You know why! You know damn well why!" he pushes himself to his feet in the narrow boat, nearly capsizing us. I reach out my paws just in time to grip the side, preventing an unwelcome midnight dip.

Silence. Gary takes a step back, hurt and regret and guilt flashing in quick succession over his face, before he turns away, starting to walk back towards the trees.

Umbreon snarls at Ash before following him.

The cold night wind chills my fur, and something else too. I can't identify it, but it makes me feel cold and heavy inside.

Gary calls back softly, his voice expressionless, "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

We watch him go, Ash and I, silent, neither saying anything.

As he and Umbreon disappear into the dark forest, I turn away from my best friend and curl up on the hard cold floor of the boat, pretending to go to sleep.

Ash never liked me to see him cry.

* * *

The sea breezes are cool and crisp. I lift my nose to the morning sun, sniffing at the air. I smell salt and sea and freedom of oceans that stretch into forever.

And a lot of rather stinging sea spray in my eyes.

"Pikachu-pika-pikachu…" _I only like the sea when I can electrify it._

"Umbreon-breon." _You are so weird._

"Chu!" _Whatever!_

"Umbre..." _I feel strange._

I turn to him in surprise. "Pika?" _What do you mean?_

He jerks his head towards our trainers. They're on opposite sides of the boat, almost as if they're deliberately keeping away from each other. Gary is sitting near the back, staring absently out towards the land we've just left behind. Ash has his back towards me, so I can't see his face. He's standing, his face upturned towards the bright blue sky.

For a moment, I don't grasp Umbreon's meaning.

Then, I understand. They're not quarreling with each other.

_Pikaa…I wish Ash would tell me what's going on…_

I look back at Umbreon. He nods, and then turns away, padding quietly to Gary, rubbing against his leg.

I let my ears drop and move over to Ash, scrambling quickly up his back onto his cap.

Neither acknowledges our existence.

_Something is definitely very very wrong._

I cast a glance towards Umbreon, meeting his blood-red eyes that look slightly hurt and confused. The look I know is reflected in my own eyes.

Suddenly, I nearly topple off Ash's cap, preventing a painful crash with only a claw dug deep into the dark red fabric.

He's staring into the sky, surprise and shock on his face.

That's when I look up and see a black military plane flying overhead, a large crimson 'R' painted jaggedly on the side. A Team Rocket attack-style plane.

As I stare at it, my mind numbing for a moment, I see, as if in slow motion, a sleek black contraption descending slowly out of the plane's underside.

A machine-gun.

There's a loud bang, and I suddenly feel myself being flung into the air, landing with a painful splash into the sea.

As I writhe and struggle in the salty water, I feel strong familiar hands wrap around my body, pulling me close, bringing my head to the surface.

I take in huge gulps of air, shaking my head, water droplets flying from my soaked fur.

I hear panting just above my head, and Ash's voice, low and tight.

"Pikachu, I'm going to dive under again, okay? Take in as much air as you can."

I barely have time to nod, closing my mouth just as Ash plunges forward back into sea.

I force open my eyes, the salt stinging them. I can just make out a watery blur of an overturned boat, presumably ours, and two more shapes in the distance, swimming hard and fast.

I feel water ripple around me as Ash follows them, kicking his legs fiercely as he keeps a firm hold on me.

The salt is stinging too much. I shut my eyes, and concentrate on preserving as much oxygen as I can.

**Thanks for reading. Hope you liked it. The action is finally getting started, about three chapters after I intended it to start.**


	8. Chapter 8 : Discovery

_**Diclaimer: Three guesses what I'm going to write. I DO NOT own Pokemon, and never will, might I add. This chapter is where the story really starts to heat up, so I hope you enjoy it. Please review.**_

_**PS: Thanks to Elphaba-Rose for beta reading my story. **_

_**Chapter 8 : Discovery**_

_I can't take it anymore._

Desperately, my lungs screaming for air, I involuntarily start to struggle in Ash's arms. Immediately, I feel his hands tighten, trying to regain control as he kicks his legs harder in an attempt to reach the surface.

I can almost hear him thinking as he struggles to save both our lives.

_Hold on just a little longer, Pikachu. I promise I'll…_

And then the brief one-moment link between our minds vanishes as my oxygen-starved mind makes one last rash act.

Still writhing in his hold, I open my jaws and bite down. Hard.

Even as I feel the horribly metallic-tasting liquid flow through my teeth, and watch it float away, merging with the sea, I regret what I have done.

_Darkness on all sides. Unexplained, unspeakable terror rushing through my veins._

_I don't understand._

_Beside me, pressed against the cold rough tree trunk, Luke still has his hand over my mouth, forcefully muffling all the questions that boil inside me, getting harder and harder to contain._

_We hear the sounds of feet and Pokemon and helicopters overhead in the black night sky._

_Shouts of malice and cruelty and dark threats reach our ears. Something inside me, frightened and desperate and confused makes me want to reply. To cry a challenge, to understand what it is they want of us. To know what I know Luke knows but does not tell me._

_Seeming to sense the urge building up inside me, his hand tightens slightly over my mouth._

_I can almost hear him trying to beg me, silently, desperately. _

Pikachu, hold on just a little longer, please. I promise we'll…

_I can't stand it anymore. Wriggling slightly away from his hand, I open my jaws and bite down. Feel blood gushing between my teeth. Hear his muffled cry of surprise and pain and hurt as tears well up in my eyes._

_And then I feel his free hand descending on my back. Not hitting me or slapping me, but stroking gently, reassuringly. Even though I can tell by the way his hand trembles on my fur that something is wrong. Something I know doesn't have anything to do with me, yet still makes remorse flood my body._

_He says, quietly, his voice not carrying a trace of anger, "It'll be all right, Pikachu."_

_I feel the tears finally slip from my tightly shut eyes, the blood in my mouth starting to slow to a trickle._

"_I'll never let anything happen to you."_

My head suddenly feels lighter. Oxygen is entering my lungs in great big gulps. I open my eyes.

"Just a little more, Ash." I hear Gary's voice somewhere above me, and Ash's non-committal grunt in reply as he heaves himself upwards, Gary's hand assisting him.

I feel my feet touching a hard, solid surface, and relief dizzies my mind for a few moments. I look up and see Umbreon's crimson eyes staring me up and down with half-hidden concern.

"Umbre?" _You okay?_

I nod, barely suppressing a smile that would set him off immediately into I-don't-care-and-it-was-just-a-passing-question mode.

Suddenly, I hear Gary's voice rising in ill-contained worry.

"Ash, what happened to your ha-"

Behind me, Ash hisses quietly, "Gary, shut up! Pikachu was just a little disoriented, that's all."

"Are you sure? Does it hurt?" he continues to argue, seemingly unaware of the discomfort and guilt rising up inside me.

"Gary, I mean it!"

Silence. A sigh.

"Fine. Do you have any medication?"

Involuntarily, I feel my eyes widen. Ash never likes people interfering. Especially if it concerns an injury of any sort to do with him.

Just then, Umbreon's questioning gaze starts to bore quite uncomfortably through my fur. Reluctantly, I lift my head again and nod, confirming his query.

"Pika-pikachu."_I bit him._

I wait for him to cast me a disgusted look, appalled that I had actually hurt my own best friend. I knew that Umbreon valued two things above any other.

Loyalty. Friendship.

Sometimes, I think that Umbreon thought the two were more or less the same anyway. Even though, to me they were a world apart.

I wait. Nothing happens.

Instead, I hear him open his jaws in a huge yawn.

"Umbre-bre-bre-bre-on-umbreon. Umbreon?"_All that swimming made me exhausted, if I say so myself. Want to come snitch something from our trainers' pockets since they so conveniently lost their packs?_

Startled, I accidentally catch his eye. I see only a brief flicker of compassion and understanding in the deep crimson orbs.

And something inside me feels warm.

Maybe his loyalty and his friendship apply to me too.

* * *

"The only way I can see to get there now is to fly."

"But, Ash, what if those planes come again? We'll be an even _easier _target in the air!"

My best friend makes a short snort of dismissal and irritation.

"Don't you think I know that? Why else did I agree to go by boat, you idiot?"

"I know, but…"

"Gary, there is no way we're getting off this stupid rock in the middle of the stupid sea, unless we _fly_!"

A particularly large wave crashes against said "stupid rock" and sending a freezing spray of water cascading over the four of us.

Gary says reluctantly, reminded that his entire body, and Umbreon's, not to mention ours are soaked to the bone.

"Fine. What flying Pokemon do you have?"

"Charizard." Ash answered automatically, fingering the Pokeball strapped safely to his belt. "You?"

"I'm glad I had my Pokemon on my belt when we jumped boat." Gary comments absently as he considers for a brief moment.

"Oh, just hurry up." Ash snaps impatiently. "Do you have a flying-type with you or not?"

He scratches his head, looking, for the first time in his life, I suspect,_ sheepish_. Gary, _sheepish. _I wonder if Ash would jump up and yell, "Let us declare this day a Gary-looks-sheepish day!"

To my disappointment, he did no such thing, only jiggled his foot restlessly as he waited for Gary's reply.

"Well…what I do have is sort of conspicuous."

"What do you mean?" Ash demands at once, his eyebrows raised.

Gary shrugs, flushing in slight embarrassment. "Fine, okay." He mutters, "I've got Aerodactyl."

"_What?_" my 'master' yelps, nearly, to my amusement, falling back into the sea.

"I sort of revived it a long time ago, while you were in Hoenn."

"Why didn't anyone tell me, then, if it was a long time ago?" Ash manages, not surprisingly, considering his Mankey or Aipom origins, to scramble back onto the rock.

Gary is starting to look very, very uncomfortable. His voice is barely a mumble now, "I asked them not to, and Umbreon managed to scare the reporters into silence. Besides, they've probably forgotten it by now. It's been done before."

Ash stares at him mutely, almost as if there're no words fighting to come tumbling from his lips. Even though I can see the questions in his eyes.

One of them is "Why?" Just like when Gary discovered that Ash had broken the glass Pikachu that seemed to be an unforgettable, unreachable part of their past.

He doesn't ask, although I know that some part of him is desperate to ask. Instead, he takes Charizard's Pokeball and flings it into the air.

"Charizard, I choose you!" his familiar cry rings in my ears, as I realize with an unexplainable dread that it is time to leave again.

Beside him, Gary stands up too, slowly, glancing at Ash as if he knows the question that he so dearly wants to ask. As if he wants to answer, but does not dare because of some reason he doesn't understand or doesn't _want _to understand.

He takes his own Pokeball, releasing a gigantic steel-gray Pokemon with Zubat-like wings.

"Aerodactyl." He climbs expertly onto its back, murmuring its name.

Nearby, Ash does likewise, holding out his arm for me to scramble on. Gary calls Umbreon back into his ball.

And then we're flying, over sea and in sky, surrounded by an infinite of blue.

* * *

"Careful, Ash." I hear Gary mutter softly as we approach a small island. It is enclosed in thick icy mist and clouds, the apparent barriers only visible because of the device we had wrangled out of Jesse.

"I know. I know." Ash snaps, his eyes still scanning the air for Rocket planes. We hadn't seen any since we began flying, for some reason. Gary assumed they thought we were dead, but Ash still insisted that something was eerily _not right_.

"Ash, come on!"

I struggle to keep my balance on my best friend's cap as Charizard nose-dives towards the water, following closely on Aerodactyl's heels. We skim over the ocean surface, circling a few times until Gary finally chooses a suitable place to begin climbing into the air again.

We're somewhere behind the island, I realize briefly, before Ash reaches up to pull me down onto Charizard's back, his hands keeping a tight hold on my back.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

A blast of bright orange-red fire spirals out of Charizard's mouth, crashing through the mist and clouds, before rebounding explosively, sending both Ash and I reeling. I shake my head to clear it.

Gary calls some distance away, "You guys all right?"

"Yes!" Ash shouts back impatiently, as soon as he's made certain of _my _safety. "Get on with the second part of the plan before they find us!"

"Fine, fine. Calm down, Ashy-boy." Gary draws Aerodactyl closer to the power-shields Charizard's Flamethrower helped locate.

Removing all their Pokeballs from their belts, both he and Ash release their Pokemon.

"Aerodactyl, Hyper Beam. Blastoise, Hydro Pump. Electivire, Thunder. And Umbreon, Shadow Ball!" Gary commands just as Ash issues his own orders to his other Pokemon and me.

"Charizard, Overheat. Glalie and Lapras, Sheer Cold. Butterfree, Silverwind. Snorlax, Hydro Pump. Pikachu, you use Thunder. Go!"

A dazzling confusion of colours and fury explodes, gradually merging into a single white-hot blast of energy that crashes unmercifully past mist and cloud into the shields.

There is a sickening crack as they start to fall apart. Within the island, the frantic noise of alarms begins to drown out every other sound.

Quickly, Ash and Gary recall the Pokemon.

"We have to hurry." Gary's voice is strained and panicked. "They already know that someone has broken the shields."

* * *

I bury my head against Ash's hand, my heart thumping agonizingly as we lie low in the shrubbery encircling the main base.

We're lucky to have made it this far.

Above and behind us, I can still hear the frantic search for the intruders going on. It's very different from the search for Luke and me, many years ago. But even so, it still sends chills up my spine, panic boiling through my veins.

In an attempt to distract myself, I study the situation in the crater below me. The situation that Ash and Gary are trying, in low voices, to find a way around.

A small army of Rocket Grunts are amassed in the crater, which seems to be the front quarter of the base, the rest probably underground. They're a variety of ages, but all; dressed in identical uniforms. White, with a blood-red 'R' embossed on the shirt.

I examine each grunt idly, noticing small details like blond hair and red hair and brown or blue eyes.

Suddenly, as my eyes land on one particular Grunt, I feel a lightning-sharp bolt of shock numb my body.

Cropped dark hair. Green eyes.

"_Pikachu._" No.

The immediate denial passes my lips as a hoarse whisper. I feel Ash's eyes turn towards me, concerned and confused.

"Pikachu?" the worry in his voice barely makes it past my conscious. My entire existence is drowning in freezing, numbing horror.

Instinctively, even as I try to stop myself, I feel a single desperate cry, saturated with the longing of twenty long years apart, tear painfully from my throat.

"Chu-pikachu!" _Luke!_

I don't even hear Ash's panic as he claps a hand over my mouth. I don't see the hundreds of eyes turn to stare into our hiding-place. I don't smell the sudden fear emanating from all my companions, even Umbreon.

My whole world is centered on the single deep green gaze that has captured mine.

_Luke…_

* * *

_**This is a re-post of this chapter, because I felt it needed some corrections and asked a beta reader to look over it first. Since I've failed to find anything utterly horribly wrong with it, plus the fact I DO NOT want to delete five whole pages, it isn't changed much.**_


	9. Chapter 9 : Imprisonment

_**Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I DO NOT…wait a minute. How about I say it in a different language? That would be more interesting, don't you agree? **_

_**我不是**__**POKEMON**__**的创造人物**__**. TRANSLATION: I am not the inventor of Pokemon. Happy reading.**_

_**Chapter 9 : Imprisonment**_

_Luke…_

Darkness. Cold chains wrapped around my wrists, my ankles. Sharp, hard, digging into my flesh enough to draw blood. Fresh blood to join the days-old, weeks-old, crusted, rusty-red blood already layering my fur.

_Luke…_

I can still see your emerald-green eyes looking into mine.

Familiar eyes, eyes that once held so much emotion. Love, hate, excitement, depression. A sea of contradictions. But still, everything that made you, _you. _My master, my best friend, the person who watched me hatch and took me in, a tiny yellow runt, the weakest of my siblings. The first to ever believe I could be more than who I was born to be.

Eyes that had once comforted me with the blind faith and affection so clearly displayed for me alone.

Eyes that now held…I don't know. Something. Something I couldn't understand. But then, I never really understood anything about you. You were my best friend, but I knew even then, that there were things you would never tell me.

Like Ash, somehow. Maybe….

No.

_Luke…_

I remember Ash's hand covering my mouth, pulling me close to him, his hand going to his belt. I remember Gary shouting at Umbreon to get back, even as a Machamp slammed into his black form. I remember being surrounded, a band of Rockets closing in on us, their Pokemon snarling, growling, hissing. I remember Ash shouting, Gary yelling, Umbreon whimpering softly. I remember pain, darkness.

I remember you looking away.

_Luke…_

We've been here for weeks now. In this dank, dark, hell-hole of a prison.

They tortured us. You know that. I saw you watching, standing in the shadows of the interrogation room, as either of us, Ash, Gary or me was questioned repeatedly.

Questions we didn't understand, so couldn't answer. Questions about Choosers, Chosen, legendary Pokemon. Questions that were gradually reduced, until in a last act of desperation, they resorted to asking us about our pasts, our lives.

All three of us shut up even more after that.

_Luke…_

One of us is going to crack soon, I know that. If not Ash, then Gary, or…or even.

No. Not ever.

I can see it in their eyes. Ash, even as he mutters obscenities under his breath, his eyes hot with anger and frustration and hate. He always hated the bad guys too easily. Unless the 'bad guys' were Pokemon, that is. He could never hate Pokemon, Ash.

Gary, his face stiff and unreadable, his eyes icy and cold, revealing nothing of what he feels, even when the electricity sears through his wrists to the rest of his body, again and again. Even when he is forced to watch the same thing being done to Ash and I.

Both eyes, one pair dark, the other blue, stony hard with determination, a will to never let go, to lose.

Lose what?

_Luke…_

What neither of them knows is, they're breaking.

It's apparent in every line of their bodies. Tense, angry, exhausted. Their stubbornness cracking bit by bit by bit, until it breaks and they lose everything.

The Rockets can see that. I can tell, by the triumphant grins on their sharp, pointed faces as they question them, over and over again; the eager way they turn up the voltage on the electrical handcuffs; the anticipation in their hard, cruel, lost eyes.

_Luke…_

They're coming for me again. It's time for another interrogation, another opportunity to see my best friend and his companion shatter. Another chance to feel the agony of too much electricity racing through my body. Another day of seeing you, hidden away in the shadows, your face expressionless, hard.

Another reminder that I never knew you, not really.

I hear the clang of a key in the lock, heavy boots crossing the cold stone floor. I feel rough, uncaring hands picking me up. I see the darkness slowly giving way to the sterile white of the interrogation cell.

I bite my lip, tasting blood. I shut my eyes; draw in a few sharp breaths.

I don't have time anymore, to be a coward, not when I have loyalty to hold, secrets to keep.

But, just once, I can't help a fleeting glance towards you, standing in the corner.

Our eyes meet.

I say, for the brief moment when our minds make that conncetion, even after twenty long years apart.

_Luke…I can't take this anymore._

* * *

_**Thanks for reading. I just want to inform all my readers that PPF will be temporarily discontinued after August. Thank you.**_

_**PS: To my beta reader, Elphaba Rose: I'm sorry I didn't wait for you to give this your approval, but I was too impatient. Thanks anyway. I know you **probably **won't mind. I hope...**_


	10. Chapter 10 : Broken Halves

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Pokemon, except two fanfiction, a bunch of collectibles and all the videos I can get my hands on. This is the first of the last three chapters I will be posting before discontinuation. Happy reading.**

**Oh, right. This particular chapter and most of Ash and Gary's history together is dedicated to RyukoVulpix, who's story "Golden Enemies, Silver Friends" gave me the inspiration for this part of their lives. Thank you.

* * *

******_Luke…I can't take this anymore._

I see your eyes darken, turn away. For a moment, a horrible cold bitterness washes over me. Bitterness and heart-wrenching pain.

Not mine.

Our connection shatters, and I feel myself shoved roughly into a cold steel chair. Chains clamp over my wrists. Fear runs through my veins. I force my lips into a tight line.

I'm never going to give them the satisfaction.

Footsteps outside. Ash and Gary are chained in place next to me. I keep my head lowered, my eyes averted, not wanting to see the angry fear in my best friend's eyes.

This is my fault.

I hear the interrogator, a crisp cool woman dressed in a crisp cool white uniform, stride into the room, her heels clicking sharply on the stone floor. She spins around to face us. Her hard amber eyes regard us without a trace of emotion.

My head still lowered, I stare at her white hands, decorated with rings of jade and onyx and sapphire. She never wears red, that's what I've noticed.

Red is the colour of blood.

She snaps her fingers, pointing a thin lacquered fingernail at Ash. Sneaking a glance, I see his whole body stiffen, his head snap up. For a moment, hot dark eyes meet cold amber. And I see bitterness and shadow and regret in hers, before they become hard again, lost again.

A Grunt, his face impassive, comes forward, presenting her with a gray steel helmet.

I look up, my eyes narrowing instinctively. I wonder what new torture this is.

The helmet is jammed roughly onto Ash's head, the straps drawn tightly under his chin, cutting into his flesh and drawing blood. I watch his teeth digging into his lip, his eyes filled with wary anticipation.

The electrical handcuffs lie unused on a metal table beside her, in front of an enormous white screen attached to the cell wall. She removes a remote control from her jacket pocket. There are two buttons on the control. One red, one white.

Her finger gently taps the red.

I wait. Beside me, Gary waits. Ash waits. The interrogator and the audience wait.

Nothing happens. For a moment, I feel a rush of wild, painful hope.

_Maybe it's spoilt. Maybe they were tricking us. Maybe…_

And then a raw howl of agony shatters the cold still air.

* * *

_Electricity running through wrists. Pain. Can't see, can't feel, can't think. Everything a black, black, spinning oblivion._

_Hiding in the shrubbery. Hearing Pikachu cry out, something shocked, disbelieving, _longing.

_Running a gentle finger over smooth, cool glass. Looking away, forcing the dark, terrible, painful words from my lips._

"_I broke it."_

_Turning it over and over in my hands. Hearing Mom's words in my head._

"_Stop running away."_

_Coming back to ruin and ashes. Total destruction of everything that had been my childhood and my sanctuary. Watching Umbreon tackle Pikachu, pain and anger in his crimson eyes. Seeing Gary again. No…_

_Anger. Frustration. "I don't care about my stupid responsibilities!" Almost-fear. "Pikachu?"_

_Creeping warmth. Vague hope. "Let's go home."_

* * *

I stare at the screen, feeling strangely numb. I'm watching my best friend's every thought and emotion and memory over the past few days.

Somewhere near me, I hear Ash's laboured breathing, his body slumped forward, his eyes wide and blank, the keys to his mind being wrested away from him, one by one.

Gary is silent. But I sense him waiting. For what?

* * *

_Fake smiles. Real laughs. Lying face. Honest words. How do I know who to trust? How do I know who wants to know me for who I am, not what I have become? Sometimes, I look forward to the day when it'll be another's turn to swim in doubt._

"_Ash Ketchum is the new Pokemon Master!" _

_The stadium erupting; the babble of voices, delighted shouts and screams riding over each other, breaking into wave upon wave upon wave. The bitterness, yet relief in the former Master's eyes, as she turns away. Already forgotten._

* * *

Now I understand why, when friends and family congratulated him, he had seemed so distracted. Happy, for sure. We'd worked together for fifteen years to achieve this dream. But, distracted, his eyes always straying back to the spot where his predecessor had last stood, recalling her last, defeated Pokemon.

The memories continue flickering on the screen.

* * *

_Battle after battle after battle. Loss. Defeat. Depression. Excitement. Achievement. A feeling of anticipation and eager hope, as the top of that winding golden stair to a dream of thousands looms nearer._

_Traveling from region to region. New people, new places. Gaining friends and rivals, only to lose them again. Making enemies and destroying them, only to remember the secrets in their eyes._

_Adventures. Legendary Pokemon. Arceus, Lugia, Moltres, Suicune, Rayquaza, Mew. Why do people always want to hurt them? Why do people always see them just as opportunities for power? Why…_

_Pikachu is in my arms, as we lie together under a starry blue-purple sky. I feel so warm, the light of our friendship soothing the empty space inside me. The emptiness I can never understand._

* * *

I remember the question he always asks me, every year on one special night.

"_You're not ever going to leave me alone, right?"_

* * *

_Strange burning yearning, a need to defeat him, the person who was once my friend. _

_Arguments. Having to see that cold, condescending look in eyes than once held warmth and trust._

"_Ash, dear. Why don't you play with Gary anymore?"_

"_Gary, what are you two fighting about? Answer me!"_

_Silence. Leave me alone. I don't want to remember._

_Then why do I keep seeing it over and over again in my head?_

* * *

There is a strange, burning anticipation inside me. I can't push it away. Half of me wants to close my eyes, knowing that I shouldn't be watching that single part of my best friend's life that he would never tell me. Yet the other half wins, keeping my eyes on the screen. Waiting. I need to know. Know what has always been hidden in Ash's eyes, just out of reach.

"No. Don't."

The whisper is so soft I can barely hear it. So filled with pleading, reluctance. So weighed down by a strange fragile fear.

I look over at Ash. His eyes have closed. His entire body has relaxed, no, given up, bent so his face is shrouded in shadow, hidden from view. He looks as if he is waiting for something.

Next to him, Gary is silent. His eyes are fixated on the screen, unblinking. He sits rigidly; his hands are clenched so hard I see a single trickle of blood snake down his wrist. He's waiting too.

They're both waiting. For the last key to be taken away, and fitted into the lock.

* * *

_Tears running down my face. I can't stop them, can't be bothered to wipe them away._

"I hate you."

"Shut up!"

"I hate you! Go away. Leave me alone. You're just in the way!"

"Don't! Shut up. You don't mean it."

"I don't mean it? How many times do I have to say it, _Ash_, yell it, maybe?"

"Don't…This isn't funny."

"It's not a joke! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! Now, get lost. I never want to see you again."

_Running away, from our secret special place under the big oak tree. Numb. Desperation, freezing cold, blinding hot making my head swim._

_I fling open the door, shove past Mom, ignore the anxiety in her voice as she calls after me._

_Sitting alone in the dark of my room. Staring out at the empty sky, slowly fading from golden-red sunset to blue-black night. Remembering when we camped out and tried to count the stars, laughter warming our hearts, friendship shining from our eyes when we looked at each other. A single fragile, yet unbreakable bond of trust binding us together forevermore. Or so we thought._

_Suddenly, blood rushes through my veins. I stretch out a hand, snatching the glass Pikachu so carefully placed on my bedside table. The last present you would ever give me._

_And later, when that symbol of our eight years of friendship lay broken on the floor, I buried my face in the sheets, and slept. A dreamless, empty sleep._

_The next morning, the glass halves of your gift were gone, their shattered presence just a distant memory._

_And slowly, over the years, our years together became just that. A memory._

* * *

There was more, I'm sure. But, just at that moment, the woman's finger presses down on the other button. The white one.

The screen goes blank. The room is silent.

A Grunt steps forward to lift the helmet off Ash's head. For just a second, I see regret in their eyes. The woman, the Grunt, every face in the room.

And then, the interrogator's voice speaks, sharp and crisp and distant.

"That'll be all for today. Take them back to their cells."

My wrists are relieved of the chains. Hands carry me back to the darkness. Looking back one last time, watching Ash and Gary being led away too, I see, once again in my mind's eye, the broken halves of the glass Pikachu falling to the floor.

* * *

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated. **

**PS: Flamers would please leave e-mail addresses or at least their real screen name. Please don't leave a coward flame. Thank you.**


	11. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

To all those people who took the trouble to read this story:

I'm canceling this fic due to lack of proper planning and execution of the story. I'm planning on re-writing it during November and December this year, or maybe later. When I do re-post, it'll most likely be under a new name and summary. For all those who are interested in continuing this fanfic, please add it to Story Alert. I'll post another A/N when the re-write comes up, informing you of the new title. Thanks for reading. And to all those readers who posted reviews, thanks for your advice and encouragement.


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